1. Adrian BASARABĂ, Iris MIHAI
TURKEY BETWEEN MIGRATIONS: SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ASPECTS OF THE PHENOMENON
Adrian BASARABĂ, Iris MIHAI

2. Goal of the paper
analysing the trends of the Turkish migration and identifying the policy areas which need to be addressed by the policy makers in Turkey as country of origin of the Turkish immigrants and as country of destination for foreigners.
the interest given to immigrants’ integration both in Turkey and at EU level

3. Country profile
Location: 97% Asia (Anatolian Peninsula), 3% Europe (Balkan Peninsula)
Surface: sqkm (36th)
Population: (17th)
Ethnic structure: 75% Turks,
18% Kurds, 7% Greeks, Armenians,
Arabs
Net migration rate: 0.5 migrant/1000 population (63rd)

4. MIGRATION OF TURKEY OVER TIME
Since the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, we have witnessed several movements of its population. They can be divided into 4 stages, all with specific characteristics:
stage I ( )
stage II ( )
stage III ( )
stage IV (after 1990)

5. Stage I (1923-1950) Two international migration movements:
mass-leaving of the country by the minority non-Muslim population
the return of the Turks from the territories lost by the Ottoman Empire before and during the first World War
Ethnical structure of the population of Turkey during (thousands)
Year
1914
1927
1945
Muslims
12,941
13,290
18,511
Orthodox Greeks
1549
110
104
Armenians
1204 77 60
Jews
128 82
Others
176 71 38
Total
15,997
13,630
18,790
Percentage of non-Muslims
19,1
2,5
1,5

6. Stage II ( )
series of international migrations, an exodus of Turkish citizens towards Western Europe countries
first agreement was signed in 1961 with Germany, fact which provides us with an explanation why today Germany has the largest Turkish Diaspora community in the world ( people in 2009).
immediately after having signed the agreement with Germany, Turkey has signed one also with UK
in 1964 there were signed agreements with Austria, Netherlands and Belgium
in 1965 with France
in 1967 with Sweden and Australia
the end of this stage was brought by the oil crisis from 1973 which pressured Germany and other countries to terminate the agreements with Turkey and several other states; this resulted in closing the migrant workers program

7. Stage III ( )
this period is characterized by an exodus of Turkish citizens towards the Arab countries
two phases:
the first one, migration towards Libya and Saudi Arabia during
the second one, migration towards Iraq, Kuwait, Yemen, Jordan and Libya during
a series of immigrants from Iran arrive to Turkey due to the political changes caused by the Islamic Revolution
during the ‘80s, part of the Turkish population found itself too, faced with the need to emigrate due to political conditions
this period ended due to the crisis generated by the Gulf War from

8. Stage IV (after 1990) this stage begins after the end of the Cold War
migration towards the former Soviet Union members
in 5 years, towards the ISC, migrated a population double in size compared to the one that migrated towards the Arab countries in 20 years
after 1995 studies reveal an increase in the migration towards more remote destinations, like Canada, USA, Australia

9. MIGRATION IN TURKEY TODAY
Immigrants
Turkey hosts immigrants, approximately 2% of its population
The immigrants group is balanced, 52.6% being women and 47.4% being men
Turkey hosts approximately refugees
It is impossible to know the exact number of illegal immigrants from Turkey, but estimates show that it could be anywhere between and
2005
2006
2007
Work
23,184
23,381
24,881
Education
22,650
25,803
28,455
Other reasons
122,284
150,011
171,872
Total
168,118
199,195
225,208

10. MIGRATION IN TURKEY TODAY
Emigrants
has today approximately 4.5 million emigrants
the most popular destinations for Turkish migrants are Germany, France and Netherlands, these three hosting approximately 2.5 million Turkish emigrants, more than half of the total number of worldwide Turkish emigrants
schooling level of those emigrating from Turkey is rather diverse, but the share of those with higher qualification is larger than that of those without qualification

11. Labour market integration
POLICY AREAS
Labour market integration
achieving a good standard of living has become conditioned by possessing money
immigrants to become self-reliant
the third priority of Europe 2020 Strategy is ‘inclusive growth – fostering a high employment economy delivering economic, social and territorial cohesion’
addressing labour shortages
raising the overall employment level
the need for regulating these aspects lies in the fact that the labour market for immigrants is best described by low wages, instability, economic abuse and marginalisation

12. POLICY AREAS Education
two essential aspects: the educational level of the immigrants at their arrival in the country
encouraging them and their children to continue their education in the host country
most of the time immigrants enrol in the labour market occupying lower positions due to their schooling level
workers with low levels of education are more vulnerable to changes in the labour market

13. POLICY AREAS
Politics
In order to make their voice heard, immigrants should participate actively in the civic life of the societies that host them and to be represented accordingly in politics
The existence of a dialogue between immigrants and their hosting societies can ease their integration, helping them to enjoy full rights and to explore their full potential leading to mutual benefits for both sides

14. POLICY AREAS The decision makers should also consider:
social protection
citizenship
cultural diversity and many others
These all can contribute to reducing illegal immigration.

15. Conclusions Turkey displays a positive evolution
the difference between the large number of emigrants and the small number of immigrants has decreased significantly
its attractiveness at international level has increased
at the moment Turkish represent the largest community of immigrants in Europe

16. Thank you! You are welcomed to address any questions!